rúllu

shapeshifter. groundbreaker. nap-taker.

the least danish thing made in denmark.

danish design principles include tradition and reduction, improving on the good, reducing for minimalism. rúllu doesn’t have a starting point, or an ending point. there is no predecessor to improve on, there is only the next iteration.

generative ai disclosure.

leatherworking

iterative sketching

modelmaking

design autopsy

collection

practical skills

bokeh furniture lab

contributors

openai’s chatgpt 4o generative ai model was used in this project for:

  • information gathered on human spine anatomy ergonomics for slat width and spacing.

  • iterative critique and feedback simulation for conceptual development.

  • artificial intelligence was not used in any capacity for creative decision-making or concept generation, and was primarily used for gathering ergonomic information.

now this. now that.

rúllu’s “l-frame” construction and tambour enables countless forms of furniture, swappable between forms in 5 minutes or less. forms range from a lounge to a daybed to an armchair, all with the same parts and construction method.

how many forms can rúllu take? the answer is unknown. when reconstructing the chair, it invites new form experimentation based upon the same principles of suspension and configuration, with the tambour itself being usable as a floor mat or beach blanket.

a chair in suspense.

a project doesn’t truly start until it’s called “ambitious” or “bold”. some say that i seek this reaction. those people could not be more correct. if there’s a doubt in a product’s probability of existence or success, that’s where i begin.

rúllu wasn’t constructed until the night before our final critique, and even after then tensions were high. all of these puns are intended.

again. and again. and again.

if i said any of my ideas made sense at the start, i was lying. before the current (8th) iteration, there were roughly 20 different directions. rúllu is not anywhere near a “finished” state. i switch between ideating on it and preparing it on my portfolio.

rúllu, in it’s state is more of a proof of concept (and comfort). there are staggering amounts of improvements and optimizations to be made in almost every way, which is why rúllu is under heavy consideration for my capstone and/or final furniture project.

a speaker in a dark environment with an illuminated ring on left and right sides.

processwork.

  • a sketch of a dual channel

    stereo dt-1.

    originally concieved as a portable soundbar, stereo dt-1 was my solution to a stereo system that was easy to travel with, so you wouldn’t have to use crummy tv speakers on vacation.

  • scindo.

    after discovering shapr3d, my most recent concept, “stereo dt-1” got modeled. the name wasn’t great. my mom suggested “scindo,” latin for split.

  • new software, new speaker.

    shifting to fusion 360, the speaker got remodeled. spot the brand aesthetic! bose, in an attempt at flattery at the rit career fair. the engineers liked it.

  • broken buds. spicy packets.

    an important notion to make when disassembling is that you are prepared for it to break. an added benefit of these earbuds is that they were already broken. and out of warranty.

  • proto-one.

    in times of emotional distress, we get invested in things. i invested in my speaker idea as a personal project, and as an excuse to make the id studio listen to my music. i have good taste. really.

  • an amplifier board with a fried capacitor

    i smell burning.

    in high school, covid saved me from sucking at electronics. not much has changed. i hooked a 5v amp up to 12v power. everyone’s done it at least once. i think.

  • a miniature speaker design made of laser cut wood, on a computer desk.

    size 9.

    my peers called my initial design “too boxy”. mildly upset, i started experimenting with other forms the speaker could take. my brother called this miniature “the shoe sizer”.

  • xbox on.

    after the shoe sizer, the “xbox series s looking speaker” was made. friends make you see things you can’t unsee. i wanted to unsee that. i couldn’t.

  • they call him "the mdf man."

    the second prototype was made out of laser cut mdf, on brand for my prototyping tendencies.

  • unfortunately familiar smells.

    the battery board started making smells and fires. this time, however, i had no idea what had gone wrong. prototyping was done for the semester.

  • single-core processing.

    in secondary school, they didn’t teach us solidworks. they taught its slightly more tolerable counterpart, autodesk inventor. some cool vinyl-inspired mesh got extruded. after 5 hours. solidworks.

  • split.

    the personal project became a class project in my 3rd year, enabling me to spend class time redefining the passion project.

  • the animation.

    one might call the keyshot animation ambitious. overkill. not worth it. they’d be right. did it anyways. it went ok. still working on getting the music.

finishes.

  • zinc.

    a new material highlighted in the era of sustainability, split’s zinc finish is cost effective and sustainable.

  • aluminum.

    lightweight, but premium. aluminum fits into practically any room or color pallete, and so will your speaker.

  • copper.

    designer’s choice. a copper exterior makes a one-of-a-kind speaker even more unique, developing an oxidized patina over time.

  • titanium.

    you don’t mess around. you didn’t even look at the other finishes. it’s made out of aerospace-grade titanium and you want it.

view the mockup store page
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